One man dies amid series of fentanyl overdoses in Thurston jail, Sheriff’s Office says
One man has died amid a series of recent fentanyl overdoses in the Thurston County jail, the Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday, and it pledged to take further measures to stop the flow of drugs into the facility.
Corrections staff have identified six instances where defendants in the jail overdosed on the fentanyl since March 5, according to a news release.
Medical staff conducted CPR and administered Narcan to reverse the overdose in each case, according to the release. They reported being able to revive four of the six affected individuals on-site, but two were transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia in critical condition.
Defendants in the jail alerted corrections staff to one of the individuals on March 9, according to the release. Staff found the a man in his late 20s unresponsive in his cell and immediately rendered aid. He died at the hospital on Monday, March 13.
The second person who was hospitalized remained in critical condition as of Tuesday, according to the Sheriff’s Office release.
Corrections staff reportedly found the man in his mid-30s in an unresponsive state around midnight Tuesday. Staff tried to administer Narcan six times on this individual before medics took him to the hospital, Undersheriff Dave Pearsall told the Board of Health.
Another person shared the cell with the man who was hospitalized on Tuesday, Pearsall said. He was also unresponsive, but staff managed to revive him after administering four doses of Narcan.
Sheriff Derek Sanders, who started his first term this year, addressed the board as well. He acknowledged the overdoses, adding this wasn’t “anything new.”
“I can remember way back in the day, hearing about overdoses in the jail,” Sanders said. “What’s different is the rate at which people are dying.”
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide details of the additional overdoses. They also indicated they will not identify those involved in the overdose incidents prior to notifying next of kin.
Lt. Cameron Simper told The Olympian he could not share further information as the investigations were ongoing.
Both incidents requiring hospitalization will be investigated by the Region 3 Critical Incident Investigation Team, according to the news release. The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation into the March 9 incident, and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation into the Tuesday, March 14 incident.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50-100 times stronger than morphine and is often mixed with other substances without the user’s knowledge.
These recent overdoses follow a wider trend in Thurston County. Deaths involving fentanyl more than doubled from 51 deaths in 2021 to at least 114 deaths in 2022, Coroner Gary Warnock told the Board of Health on Tuesday.
In the news release, The Sheriff’s Office said it will take steps to stop the flow of narcotics into the county jail.
“Our office takes the introduction of narcotics into our correctional facility seriously,” the release reads. “We continue to enact measures to intercept these narcotics to include a full body scan at the time of booking.”
Sanders previously told The Olympian he wanted to add a narcotics dog handler position to the jail. He also responded to the recent spate of overdoses in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“A task force is being created to implement a permanent narcotics K9 team in our jail as soon as possible,” Sanders said. “In the meantime, we’re utilizing K9s from local partners immediately to conduct drug sweeps.”
RESOURCES
Narcan, generically known as naloxone, is a medicine used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses. The state Department of Health has a list of instructions and resources on its website, as well as a search engine to help people find naloxone near them.
Thurston County’s Public Health & Social Services department also offers a clean syringe program and naloxone training; more information can be found on the department’s website.
Those in need of help for substance abuse or mental health concerns can call the Washington Recovery Help Line at 866-789-1511.
Anyone experiencing a crisis can call 988 to reach a national lifeline.
Education on how to prevent opioid overdose can be found at stopoverdose.org.
This story was originally published March 15, 2023 at 8:31 AM.
